Day 342, 11 July 2013, Machu Picchu. It has been a journey and a half to get this far - San Francisco - (fly to) Lima - (fly to) Cuzco - (taxi to bus to train to) Aguas Calientes and last but not least we took the shuttle bus up a winding gravel road with multiple switchbacks and frequent stops to let the downward buses past. And then we were there. The views alone over the luxuriant vegetation on the surrounding cliffs is worth the trip. We took our hats off to the elderly wielders of walking sticks who were ahead of us on the initial climb to the guardhouse. Somewhat like the massive hike we took to the high place of sacrifice in Petra, Jordan - we refused to be outdone by folks 30 years older than us. The views were astounding - and slightly surreal. And high. Very high - those staircases don't climb themselves, but it is a sad fact of life that the number of ancient sun worshipping peoples with their temples underground is somewhat limited. After seeing this site on multiple postcards and posters and books, actually being there was incredible. We were up there bright and early and in the cool of the day before the crowds arrived. We enjoyed the peace and took frequent stops to savour the views and marvel at the incredible stone work of the Incas. Apparently the city was abandoned 20% incomplete... no one knows why. I'm thinking the government pulled planning permission, but it may have had something to do with the Spanish... In any event, there are parts of the site still littered with the gigantic granite boulders that were the source of their building materials. Some were so huge they were simply left in-situ and the buildings were erected around them. If you make it this far, it's well worth having the buffet at the Sanctuary Lodge at the end of your stroll around the site. Certainly wouldn't recommend coming up in the afternoon and eating lunch first... Bad enough hiking around with an empty stomach - doing it in the heat of the day on a full stomach would be just plain silly... Off again tomorrow on the train to Cuzco... Brazil the following day. Time is telescoping quite alarmingly at this point in the trip.
Today's photo is from the highest point we reached, the Guard House. To get much higher we would have had to climb Wayna Picchu (the massive mountain in the middle of the photo). And believe it or not tickets for the privilege were sold out and there was a queue waiting to do it.